Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
What fun! I hope you don’t if I steal this idea next year for Space Week. I have read the Smeds and the Smoos with my own class but I love the idea of a letter being left with a task and the Chemistry Lab Box. This is all very engaging and exciting. What a great way to learn about rockets and how different materials react when mixed together.
Rockets:
ENGAGE:
I would show the children a picture or toy rocket.
Ask:
What do you notice about the rocket?
Where do rockets go?
What do you think makes a rocket move?
Watch a short video clip of a rocket launch or demonstrate a balloon being released to spark curiosity.
Encourage children to share what they already know about rockets and space.
INVESTIGATE:
Starter Question
How can we make a paper rocket travel the furthest?Predicting
Children predict:
Which rocket will fly the furthest?
What might make a rocket travel higher or farther?Conducting the Investigation
Children decorate and make simple paper rockets.
Using a straw/balloon launcher, children launch their rockets.
Each child has a turn while classmates observe.
Compare rockets with different nose shapes or fin sizes (teacher prepared if appropriate).Interpreting Results
Discuss:
Which rocket travelled the furthest?
Which travelled the highest?
Why do you think some rockets flew better than others?
Did your prediction match the results?TAKE THE NEXT STEP:
Children redesign one part of their rocket to see if it improves the flight.
Talk about how real engineers test and improve rockets many times before they are launched.
Make links to space exploration and discuss what astronauts use rockets for.
REFLECTION
Ask:What did you discover today?
What helped your rocket fly well?
What would you change next time?
What surprised you?
Assessment
The teacher observes whether children can:Make a prediction.
Participate in the investigation.
Describe what happened.
Suggest one improvement to their rocket.
Resources
Paper rocket templates
Straws or rocket launcher
Card, crayons/markers
Tape and scissors (teacher support where needed)
Pictures or video of a rocket launch
Learning Outcome: Children investigate how changing the design of a rocket can affect how it moves, while developing skills in predicting, observing, testing, and reflecting.Thank you for sharing your ideas. I have added the book A house is a house for me’ by Mary Ann Hoberman to my list of resources for next year. I love integrating literacy into other subjects and it is a great way to engage the younger pupils. I like how you compared Irish houses to others houses abroad. It most certainly would encourage children to recognise and appreciate different living arrangements. I like the idea of creating 3D models also bringing their ideas to life.
I would like to use the Where do you live? activity in my senior infant classroom next year. This is how I would deliver the lesson using the ESERO 5 resource as a guide:
ENGAGE:
Show pictures of different homes (house, apartment, bungalow, cottage, caravan).
Ask:
Where do you live?
What does your home look like?
Do all people live in the same type of home?
Encourage children to wonder:
“I wonder why homes look different?”
INVESTIGATE:
Starter Question:What different types of homes can we find?Predict: Ask children to predict which type of home most children in the class live in.
Conduct the Investigation:
Examine pictures of different homes.
Discuss features of each (one storey/two storeys, joined to another house, many families living together, etc.).
Children sort picture cards into groups (detached, semi-detached, terraced, apartment, bungalow, cottage).
Complete a simple class tally chart showing the different homes children live in.Interpret the Results:
Which type of home appears most often?
Which type appears least?
Discuss how every home is different but all homes provide shelter and keep us safe.TAKE THE NEXT STEP:
Children draw their own home.
Complete the sentence:
“I live in a __________.”
“My home has __________.”
Extension: Compare your home with a friend’s home. How are they the same? How are they different?REFLECTION:
Ask children:
What new type of home did you learn about today?
What type of home do you live in?
Why is a home important?
Exit ticket: Hold up the picture of the type of home you live in or tell your partner one thing you learned.This is a lovely lesson for Senior Infants. Thank you for sharing. I will be using this in my classroom next year. I love that you used story to promote interest at the beginning of the lesson. This is a really active lesson using hands on materials and ICT. I ma sure the children would be very engaged during this.
ENGAGE:
I would show children pictures of colourful, friendly aliens or read a short story about space (e.g. Aliens Love Underpants/Smeds and the Smoos).
Questions:
What do you think an alien looks like?
How many eyes might it have?
Could it have three arms or five legs?
What planet might it live on?
Encourage children to share ideas and use their imagination. Explain that there is no right or wrong answer because everyone will create their own unique alien.INVESTIGATE:
My Starter Question:
How can we use different shapes, colours and materials to create our own alien?Predicting:
Children discuss what features they think their alien will have before they begin.Conducting the Investigation:
I would demonstrate how to draw a large body shape using circles, ovals and rectangles.
Children add features such as eyes, antennas, mouths, arms and legs.
They colour and decorate their aliens using crayons, markers, collage materials, googly eyes, glitter or coloured paper.
Interpreting Results:
Children compare their finished aliens.
Discuss similarities and differences:
Which alien has the most eyes?
Which is the tallest?
Which uses the brightest colours?
Highlight that every alien is different and creative.TAKE THE NEXT STEP:
Children give their alien a name.
They describe:
What planet it comes from.
What it likes to eat.
How it travels through space.
Display the aliens together to create a “Class Alien Planet.”
Link to oral language by encouraging children to tell a short story about their alien.REFLECTION
I will ask children:What was your favourite part of making your alien?
What shapes did you use?
What makes your alien special?
If you made another alien, what would you change?Teacher Reflection:
Did the children use their imagination and create original designs?
Were they able to use a variety of shapes and colours?
Did they confidently talk about their finished work during the reflection?I would use the activity set on The Sun and Shadows. I love the lesson plan shared during Module two. I really like how it integrates STEM, literacy and art.
I would begin the lesson by reading Moon Bear’s Shadow to generate interest. While reading this story we would explore shadows and the position of the sun. We would spend some time discussing the pictures and what happens throughout the story. As an art activity we would great a scene with a lake,tree and I would give the children a small toy bear and a torch representing the sun. I would give the children time to use the torch to explore shadows using their creation. In time I would introduce some challenge cards for the children to complete. We would then have some circle time where we would reflect on what we have learned about the sun and shadows during our lesson today. A nice follow up activity would be they could create their own ‘super hero symbol’ like batman and we would create our own using what we have learned about shadows.Thank you for sharing yet another story that would be great to explore shadows. I think story is a great way to gain interest with younger classes especially. I love to integrate subjects where possible to enhance learning and use time wisely in the infant day.
I really liked this idea. Especially using song to further engage the children. What a great idea to explore magnets as the follow up activity. I have made note of this lesson and will be trying it with my own class next year.
For my Senior Infants classroom, an inquiry-based activity should be playful, hands-on, and encourage children to ask questions and explore. Here’s an example using the topic “What Floats and What Sinks?”.
ENGAGE – Prompt / Wonder / Explore
Show the children a bowl of water and a selection of objects (stone, leaf, spoon, toy boat, cork, coin, sponge).
Ask:
What do you notice about these objects?
What do you think will happen when we put them in the water?
Why do you think that?
Let the children handle and discuss the objects before testing them.INVESTIGATE – Starting Question / Predicting / Conducting the Investigation / Interpreting Results
Starting Question:Which objects will float and which will sink?
Predicting:Children predict whether each object will float or sink by placing it under a “Float” or “Sink” picture card.
Conducting the Investigation:One at a time, children place the objects in the water and observe what happens.
Encourage discussion:
Did it float or sink?
Was your prediction correct?
Interpreting Results:Record findings on a simple chart with pictures.
Discuss patterns:
What kinds of things floated?
What kinds of things sank?
Did anything surprise you?
TAKE THE NEXT STEP – Apply Learning / Making Connections / Thoughtful Learning
Challenge children to build a boat from foil or recycled materials that can float and carry counters or toy animals.
Ask:
How can we make our boat hold more?
Where else do we see floating and sinking in everyday life? (e.g., bath time, boats, ducks).
REFLECTION
Gather the children together and ask:What did you learn today?
What surprised you?
What would you like to investigate next?
Children can draw one object that floated and one that sank and explain why they think it happened.
This activity develops scientific inquiry skills, including questioning, predicting, observing, recording results, and reflecting, while matching the learning approach recommended for Senior Infants.